Boot



C. W. HUBBELL.

BOOT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1919.

Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

UNITED sTAr .s

PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE W. HUBBELL, OF NAUGATUCK. CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOODYEARS INDIA RUBBER GLOVE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A COR- PORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

BOOT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 17, 1920.

Application filed November 7, 1919. Serial No. 336,371.

lie it known that l, (manure \V. llunmum, a citizen of the l nited States, residing at Naugatuek, county of New llaveu, and Stale of Connecticut, have invented certain newand usel'ul Improvements in lloots, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to footwear and especially to a waterproof boot provided with a skirt or extension suitable for hunters and fishermen.

lioots with skirt extensions as heretofore made have had no provision for adjusting their foot portions tightly or snugly about the ankle and in consequence have permitted the foot to slip back and forth in an uncomfortable manner. The boot to which the skirt has been attached has had to be large enough around the ankle to permit the last upon which it is built to be with drawn and this fact together with the stiff and unyielding character of the materials constituting the boot are responsible for the loose fitting of the article about the ankle of the wearer. This feature of construction renders the boots unsuitable for hunting and fishing purposes where considerable walking is inevitable in the quest for game. Furthermore prior hip boots are heavier than necessary because of the weight and length of the stout upper which usually reaches to a point adjacent the knee.

The present invention aims to provide a skirt-topped short boot free of objectionable looseness about the ankle, and a waterproof article that is more comfortable and lighter than those heretofore made but durable and stout enough to meet service requirements.

It consists essentially of a boot and skirt united in a durable waterproof fashion and adjustable over the instep and around the ankle for conforming the upper to the arch and ankle of the wearer very much after the fashion of an ordinary high shoe.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective of the boot ready to be laced up.

Fig. 2 is a plan view in horizontal section at the plane of the upper edges of the boot or foot portion proper.

Fig. 3 is an inside view of the pocket or front closure before its application to the last.

in the drawings the article is shown eomprising a. boot or shoe portion indicated generally by the numeral 1 and a skirt or extension 2. The boot or shoe portion ineludesa vamp 3 and quarters 4 which latter terminate in lacing flies 5. By a lacing 6 the flies 5 maybe drawn together to sung the upper about the ankle of the wearer, water being excluded by a placket closure or foldable member 7 which is united marginally to the vamp 3 and quarters 4 behind the eyleted flies 5. The quarters 4 and placket closure 7 together constitute a continuous or unbroken upper. It is to be noted that the flies 5 terminate short of the upper edges of the quarters, as indicated at 5, and that the placket closure or foldable member 7 is united marginally to the quarters when it is in a folded flat condition, 5- 8., when the surfaces defining the V-shaped openings 8 and 9 in Fig. 2 are directly in contact.

After the boot or 'shoe portion 1 has been completed, the skirt portion 2 preferably of a single thickness of flexible rubber coated fabric reinforced if desired by an extra layer of rubberized fabric terminating on the line indicated at 2 has its lower edge adhered or stitched thereto as indicated at 2". While this may be done in any suitable manner it has been found convenient to spread or open the placket closure 7 while the boot or shoe is on the last, the skirt being brought from one side of the rear center line around over the central median line of the-placket closure held distended in any convenient manner as by a tapering o'r pointed tool, and afterward the last is turned over and the seaming continued from the front center to the rear center'of the boot. Then the longitudinal edges of the skirt are joined together at the rear by a single longitudinal lap seam. To hold the skirt up over' the knee a strap 10 and buckle 11 are preferably provided for connection at the waistline of the wearer. v

The article is preferably-made of rubberized'fabric and gum the shoe and placket closure being preferably heavy, and stout and the skirt light and flexible. The location of the placket closure at the front of the shoe insures a gathering of the fullness in the skirt over the front portion of the leg able fiexure, but it is sufficiently yielding to' permit free and easy movement of the wearer.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a new and useful article of footwear which may be readily adjusted about, the ankle so as to minimize, if not eliminate, the liability of blistering the heel heretofore present in prior topped boots. It is also light enough to be comfortable in walking even considerable distances, little or no greater discomfort being occasioned than with an ordinary high shoe or bootee.

It is also to be noted that the boot of the present invention laces tight over the instep and around the ankle and is made of a strong "material not likely to be snagged by underbrush. The ankle and lower part of the leg are protected and conform very closely to the sides of the wearers foot so that the lower portion of the boot is small. Furthermore the joining of the skirt or leg covering to the external upper edge of the shoe insures smoothness on the inside. The lap seam joiningthe shoe and skirt being located entirely above the ankle, there is no opportunity for the thin flexible skirt to be chafed or cracked and thus ruin the boot more rapidly than the material deteriorates in the usual course.

Havingthus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: v

1. As an article of manufacture, a boot having foot and leg covering portions, the foot portion being provided externally with fastening devices or adjustment over the instep and around the ankle, the foot and leg covering portions being united intermediate the ankle and knee by an endless substantially circular la'p joint located entirely above the ankle, and a water roof rubber coating over the exterior o the article.

2. As an article of manufacture, a boot having a foot portion and a skirt extending up over the leg the foot portion having a continuous tubular upper formed by uarters joined together at the front by a oldable placket member covering the instep and the lower portion of the leg immediately adjacent the ankle, lacing flles on said foot portion at the junctions of said quarters and placket member, the skirt being continuous or tubular and having only a single longitudinal lap seam, the foot portion being made of reinforced material and the skirt being made of more flexible material than the foot portion.

3. As an article of manufacture, a reinforced high shoe having an upper with a front placket member adjustable over the instep and around the leg and terminating .immediately above the ankle, and a leg covering secured to the top of the quarters and placket member of the high shoe by a circumferential lap joint, the leg covering being of lighter material than the hi h shoe and both beingexternally waterproo ed.

4. As an article of manufacture, a waterproof Blucher shoe covering the foot and le to a point immediately above the ankle an adjustable over the instep and around the leg, and a waterproof leg covering lapping the upper edge of the shoe externally at a point entirely above the ankle where the lap join't'is not subjected to flexure in walking.

Signed at Naugatuck, Conn, this 22nd day of October, 1919.

CLARENCE W. HUBBELL. 

